Do we see God as He ought to be seen? No, I do not think so. If we saw God as He really is, we would not sin and would not live lives that favour wrong. In the Psalm David speaks of the inestimable worth of God, and His supremity.

God created everything – yet there are Christians, afraid to appear stupid before their peers, who allow evolution and other sins to proliferate. In this they have no excuse, because creation is plainly seen, and the work of an Almighty ‘other’, God, is obvious. Those who say these two things are not obvious are plagued by their own delusions, sins and inability to perceive what is before them.

Law is absolute and there are no exceptions. No Christian may overturn any part of God’s law or word. Today, some think they are free to say God’s word was ‘for its day’ and not for every age. God forbid! Such liars come under God’s wrath!

Every Christian MUST cleanse himself of sin and wicked thought, to mimic and be a result of, God’s law and demands. Without it we are no better than the sinners around us who hate God.

Verse 1

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

This Psalm is an affirmation of the greatness of God, worthy to be sung and played through the office of the chief musician of the Temple. David begins with the fact that the universe spells out the glory of God. It is bizarre that atheists and others do not accept this, even though it is patently true! (We find this verse repeated in Romans 1, as a reason to believe in creation and in God’s commands).

Big Bangs cannot produce what we see, from biggest to smallest part. Nor can any of the other many hypotheses invented by unbelieving men. They all fail to address the simple question: “How?” Something had to precede something! It is intellectually galling to be forced into an evolutionist framework, because it is not just unproven, but impossible. It is also galling because God said He made everything, and, by definition, whatever God says must be true and must be the only answer.

This is because God is great and unique. There are no other gods before Him… indeed, no others exist; they are figments of unbelievers’ fantasies. The heavens MUST point to God’s glory, because it is inevitable and obvious. It takes a huge ‘leap of faith’ (in the dark) to believe anything other than Creation by an holy God. Those who claim belief in God or creation are unintellectual are being silly. Their claim is just one of repetition not proven fact!

The firmament (that is, the earth and surrounding atmosphere, etc) shows God’s handiwork. Its very presence and way it is constructed, with everything it contains, tells us it was made by a real and personal God, not by accident or some unidentified force. Everything was created by God, by His own hand or power. And everything was made perfectly, already enabled to reproduce exactly as made. What we see today came from the original things made, including any later ‘variations on a theme’. Since creation nothing new has come about or been created that was not in the beginning. Everything points to the God of scripture, so there is no excuse for a godless belief in chance, a belief that is anti-intellectual because it fails to acknowledge what is obvious and covers its ignorance with jargon and scorn.

Matthew Henry lived well before Darwin made his atheistic assumptions. But, he says what I say of things created: “they could not make themselves, (for) that is a contradiction; they could not be produced by a casual hit of atoms, (for) that is an absurdity, fit rather to be bantered than reasoned with: therefore, they must have a Creator…” Christians should not be afraid to tell atheists, whether scientists or not, that what they believe and teach is an absurdity. Do not let them get away with their insecurities and nonsense. Indeed, the same goes for ALL sins.

Verses 2-6

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Everything is proof of God, His will, and His handiwork. Each new day and each new night simply repeats these facts, for nothing changes from what was created by God. Day and night and seasons were created to be so, and will remain. The only change is one of decay, because of the effects of sin on mankind and everything made.

Other than that everything is as it ever was, even the degenerated world we now see being a proof that God made everything. The fact of creation speaks volumes! Everything points to Almighty God. Even night and day do so, for it was promised to Noah that night and day will always exist until the end of time. Verse 3 again tells us that unbelievers are absurd in their claims that things made themselves! This is known in every language and nation… only the voices of dullard atheists say otherwise. Surely it is not right to call them dullards? What else can we call them when, pretending to be wise, they reject what is plainly set before their very eyes? The same goes for Christians who are seduced by atheistic thought so that they might appear acceptable to unbelievers… what a pathetic aim, to be acceptable to unbelievers and ignoring God in the process!

The truth of this, “the line” or measure of all things, has “gone out through all the earth”. There is no excuse for unbelief in creation, or rejection of God’s law, when the proof of their existence and validity is all around us. It does not matter to me one iota that unbelievers refuse to accept this, or “the words” referring to it – for us, scripture. In both - what we see and what is contained in scripture - we see that God “hath set” a “tabernacle for the sun”. He hath set, or ordained beforehand, that they should exist and be so. And in those words God has given us a fixed place for the sun. It is not randomly placed but is there by decree and will not move, nor will it tire itself out; it will end when God says so, when He burns up even the sun to nothing, before creating a new heaven and earth.

The sun is like a “bridegroom” coming out of his room, confident in his new bride and purpose. It is so strong it is like a champion running a race he knows he will win. The sun is ordained to be as it is! Which it must obey, because that is how God ordained it. There is a spiritual meaning here, too, of the Son of God Who came to save us, Whose eternal existence is assured, and whose salvation for those so ordained is also assured. We, collectively, are the bride of the Bridegroom.

Verses 7-11

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

“The law of the LORD is perfect”. How many of the saved believe this? Not many! It includes the law of salvation as well as the ‘law’ usually referred to by Christians, meaning the law contained in the Old Testament. The law, or towrah, is the teaching or command of God, applicable to all human beings, who must obey. Even the Mosaic law had to be obeyed by visitors and foreigners on Israel’s soil, and, before that, when they were amidst the travelling Hebrews.

God’s law is “perfect”, tamiym – complete, whole, needing no addition, subtraction, or any amendment. It is integrity itself, wholesome and sound. Everything outside it is tainted and wrong. Note, too, that this same law converts the soul. That is, God’s word turns a man’s mind around so that he leaves sin behind and lives according to God’s will. Within this is repentance as a precursor. Note that this is an imperative for all who are ordained to eternal life. This is because “the testimony of Jehovah is sure”. It cannot lie or make a mistake. When God chooses people to eternal salvation, nothing can stop it. And so God’s word and will makes “wise the simple”.

“Simple” carries the meaning of naivete, simplicity, open-mindedness and even foolishness. The latter is fine, because those of us who believe are ‘foolish’ (in men’s eyes). In this text the word means to be simple ones who do not embellish or reject scripture, but believe it because “God said” so. And when we simply believe and accept, we become wise, chakam, in the eyes of God. Unbelievers call us stupid for believing, but God calls us wise! Who do I believe? God.

God’s statutes are also perfect. His statutes are His precepts or teachings, and every teaching is a command to be obeyed. The root word includes the idea of attending to, or being punished for not doing so. His statutes are “right”… straight and straightforward, correct, righteous, pleasing. It is an odd feature of unbelief that the unsaved man thinks God’s laws are bad and remove much from pleasure. In reality, it is ONLY God’s laws that please and give pleasure.

When we live, think, and act according to God’s word, we prosper inwardly and outwardly. But, we do not desire sin (though we might occasionally fall), and this seeking after holiness enables us to enjoy life and the future. Those who wrongly believe following sin gives pleasure, come to realise their misery as time progresses, and their misery leads them to pretend and fight against God and His people. Their sinful, dark hearts cannot bear the Light. But, we who are in the Light, rejoice.

For the godly, God’s commands are pure and enlightening, not heavy or bad. Only the unsaved think otherwise! Their sinful hearts cannot allow light within, so they hit out at it, scorning and refusing to act wisely. And so further misery ensues, a misery they will not admit to. Those who enter deeper and deeper into their sins are always miserable, and the more miserable they become the harder their attitudes against God become, leading to sheer hatred. They hate God, His word and His people, because they highlight their misery, which they pretend to enjoy. But, at such a depth of evil, they are stumbling in blackness of soul and are unable to extricate themselves. So, in their utter misery they lash out wildly. We see this around us today, in several wicked movements of unsaved men.

Of course, one thing that unsaved sinners loathe and try to avoid is cleanliness of heart, mind and motive. There is an advertisement on television where a woman places a white garment on her washing line; her neighbour, seeing that her own washing is grey by comparison, immediately takes the washing off her line to rewash it, scowling as she does so! Sinners are like that. They can see the cleanliness of the saved and cannot match it, so they poke fun and become hostile. At one time they hid their unseemly sin. But, today, because of the prevailing wicked philosophies in the world, they vaunt their evils openly, and reverse the fact of sin, by claiming that it is Christians who are evil, not them! And so evil persist and grows.

Verse 9 tells us that what is clean is the “fear of Jehovah”. This fear is not just reverence for the Lord, but a terror of what God can do to those who disobey. This is “clean”… morally, ethically, physically – in all ways. Obviously, the opposite is true if we do not fear Him. We should be fearful only if we disobey and act wrongly. This is no different from a fear of police officers if we do wrong! We need not fear if we do what is lawful. So, why scorn the fear of the Lord?

Another meaning of ‘clean’ is ‘fair’ and ‘pure’… both of which cause unbelievers to scorn. They scorn because they know we are saved and are right, and they are wrong. It is a fallacy to say unbelievers do not know they are wrong – of course they do! Every living moment sears their soul with guilt! And this deep guilt leads them to shout loudly against Christians. Thus, the louder they shout and the more virulent they are, the more this proves they acknowledge their guilt!

When we properly fear God, we are rewarded with eternal bliss. Atheists say there is nothing after death… but they will be faced with that ‘nothing’ in the form of eternal punishment in hell, after they die. Their refusal to accept it is meaningless, because it will happen anyway.

Whatever God decides is always true and righteous. Again, atheists proclaim the ‘hatefulness’ of our God, because He punishes unbelievers in hell… remember, this is the God they say does not exist. So, why do they kick so much? They do so not for the reasons they give, but because their sin forces them to do it, and their guilt pushes them to shout loudly against God and His people. The much favoured choice to reject God they claim to freely practice is nothing but enforced labour by their master, Satan. He pulls hard at the chains around their neck until they snort against God. But does it mean anything? Of course not, for God is supreme and above Satan, whom He created.

So, we should desire to be holy more than anything else. What we should desire is better than gold and sweeter to the soul than honey. In other words, there is nothing better for us than fear of God and obedience to His commands. The ‘gold’ of the unbeliever is only fool’s gold, worthless; the honey of the unbeliever is rotting flesh, making us vomit.

More than that, says David, “thy servant is warned” by God’s commands. Those who believe will obey God’s commands because they are the basis for his life. To keep them is to obtain many rewards. The ‘rewards’ of sin are plentiful but filthy and dangerous. Those who live without God have empty lives, worthless, without charm or use. Any ‘rewards’ are for this life only, and will die with the body, leaving the eternal soul to suffer forever in hell. Some reward to desire after!

Verses 12-14

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Does verse 12 tell us God made errors? Of course not! Even without knowing the details we cannot say God made errors. It is simply not possible for God to sin, so we can immediately reject such an idea without knowing details. No, this comment is about David and other humans. He is asking who can possibly understand why they make mistakes and sin? Few can do so – even Paul admitted to this.

And how many of us have secret sins? Many! It is quite easy to make a public profession of faith, but to keep sins harboured secretly in the mind and heart. These, too, must be rooted-out and ‘killed off’. We must be cleansed thoroughly. Many today fashionably ‘detox’ their skin or body… rather, we should all ‘detox’ our spirits, hearts and minds!

David then begs God to keep him safe from “presumptuous sins” that make him arrogant or proud. As a king he could easily fall into that sin! But, he does not want to fall for any reason. He is only an earthly king, whereas His Lord is the King of kings, whose will allows earthly kings to flourish only if they obey His commands.

David does not want sin to dominate him; rather he wants to be “upright” (righteous) and innocent. It is wonderful to know we are innocent before God. It refreshes the soul and gives us a desire to remain holy, with a clear conscience. What is this “great transgression”? It is linked to what he just said – presumptuous sins that can reach a crescendo of sin.

Please let me be acceptable to you, pleads David. Let everything I say and think be holy, so that You will protect me with your strength, and because You have saved and protected me. Is this our plea, also?